Major stock exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region traded lower on Wednesday after Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Financial Secretary Paul Chan released details of the local government's budget for the upcoming fiscal year, announcing that the city will raise the stamp duty on stock trading, seemingly impacting the market sentiment.
The DAX and the FTSE 100 were unchanged at the open. Meanwhile, the London-based stocks slipped into the red. The CAC 40 fell 0.12 percent. The euro was flat against the greenback, changing hands for 1.21539. The pound rose 0.45 percent concurrently to sell for 1.41767 dollars.
The Nikkei 225 index declined by 1.61 percent at the end of the trading session.
The Shanghai Composite lost 2.44 percent and the Shenzhen Composite Index was 2.79 percent down, while the Hang Seng dropped by 2.91 percent. The Kospi closed 2.45 percent lower. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia decreased 0.90 percent at the closing bell.